What I love about this
episode:
I really like the frame story with the comedians hearing the tale of
Salt and Pepper. For one, I just like frame stories. For
another, I like that it turns out that the story was told by an angel,
seemingly for the purpose of getting Johnny B. (or was it D.?) to
confide in his friends. It's like a bonus assignment!

Andrew haunts scenes he's not even in for me. Here's this gem
from Monica: "Humans have trouble communicating their real
feelings. Sometimes its worse with men." I like it because
sometimes I do have trouble communicating my feelings so that rings
true. I don't know if guys have it worse but if they do... sucks
to be them. Cause I don't like it. So I do like the line
although it, coupled with Monica's later "I have learned that men
sometimes have problems sharing their real feelings, "does make me want
to scream "Hello there, Monica! It's not just us humans' menfolk
having trouble with that..."

I could relate to Monica's unease reading those jokes Maury provided
for her. I hate reading jokes cause, while I don't consider
myself a prude exactly, I'm not comfortable talking about risque
stuff. So... Monica had my sympathy.

Here's another line from Monica I like: "Have you ever told Ed that you
loved him?" It just makes me think about how seldom people
sometimes say that too each other. And how we should change that.

I really like and feel for Ed. What an unselfish person! He
sacrifices Maury's good opinion of him in hopes it'll give Maury a
better career. That's a pretty amazing friend.

I've always liked that TBAA spoke of an emotional God. So I love
this line after Monica talks about God crying for His children: "If God
can show His emotions in that way, why can't you?" It's a
question a lot of us should probably ask ourselves.

One last quote from Monica that's special to me now cause I used it to
introduce CABB 8:
"God holds a special place for those who provide the gift of
laughter." I believe He does.

I like that this episode ends with the trio sitting together at a
booth. In an episode about friendships, it just had to be that
way.

What I didn't love about this
episode:Monica's comedy
routine at the club is just reeaaaalllyyyy uncomfortable to
watch. I just squirm watching it. It's so bad. I know
that was the point but... augh. I almost feel like leaving the
room. Although I am glad she eventually wins over the audience, I
do wonder how realistic it is that a spiritual pep talk would NOT get
heckled by anyone in a comedy club.

Okay... I feel bad saying this but... I actually didn't laugh at
a single joke in this show. And I *know* Jerry Stiller and Tom
Poston are really funny. But the actual text of the jokes just
doesn't work for me. It kinda reminds me of "Jagged Edges" in
that. I didn't think that lady was very funny, either.
Still like the episodes, of course.

Lingering questions:
Does a sympathetic depiction of a Hollywood agent exist? Anyone?

Did Monica ever tell Andrew she loved him? Or him her? Part
of me hopes not because of the shippers but barring concerns about
them... Monica asking Maury if he'd ever told Ed he loved him
made me really desperate to know she told Andrew that but I just can't
remember. Did Tess? I think Tess did.

Do we know for sure which angel told the comedian the story of Maury
and Ed? Did I miss it or do we really not know? My dog was
a lil distracting at parts.

Parts that made me feel
swoony:That look on
Andrew's face after Ed basically says his normal, serious
expression is funny... hysterical. And that's a fetching
ensemble. He looks good in brown.

Andrew isn't even on screen when Monica says this: "Sometimes the most
painful words are those that are not spoken." Yet, it makes me
feel swoony and protective of him. Because I think he is pained
by things Monica and even Tess didn't say and things he himself held in
and... Augh. Just speak!

Andrew looks especially awesomely lovely during the entire scene in
which Ed is on the gurney. Great lighting and his facial
expressions are just so sincere and cute.

That lil salute/point thing Andrew does at the very end to the table of
comedians is very cute. He's very smiley there. And I shall
attempt to not get all maudlin in thinking about how Monica and Tess
are seated next to each other and he is alone on his side of the
booth. Sigh. Too late.

Random thoughts:
Maury reminds me way too much of my recently deceased
grandfather. So that made this really odd at parts. The way
he talked to that waitress and that swagger were spot on. Yet
they both had good hearts under that.

A review by Nicole:

What I love about this episode:It seems that
I often have to say something about location and this is no exception.
I've always been a bit partial to those red/silver diner kinda looks. I
like this one too and the blue lighted stars on the ceiling are really
cool. Makes me wanna put some in my own room...The exchange
between Monica and Maury in the beginning about the coffee and toast
being black was pretty funny. There's a lot to laugh at in this
episode, as it features comedians, but that is one of my favorite funny
moments. Another I liked was when one of the guys asks his three pals
if they want him to drop dead. They take a "vote" and the answer is
"yes". It sounds terrible, but every time I see that, I laugh. It
reminds me of my own relationships with my siblings.The shot of Andrew
walking beside Ed while he's on the gurney is just really cool. I love
the lighting and camera position there and some day I'm gonna use that
in a music video somewhere. Just cause I can and it's neat.I was so
happy that Maury chose to stay with Ed on the ambulance. The idea of
not getting to tell someone you love goodbye is pretty heartbreaking
and I can sort of relate to it myself. I was really glad to see their
relationship get patched up, though it is sad it couldn't have happened
sooner. The part near the end where they tell one another "I love you"
is another moment that I like between them. It just about put tears in
my eyes this evening, so that was really well done.I love the
idea of God wanting Maury and Ed to perform the sketch, "What Makes God
Laugh" for Him. It is fun to watch, though my favorite parts of it were
the part about lawyers and the part about golfing. No wonder God wanted
to see it. ;-)And as for
something a bit more serious, almost this entire episode is nothing but
bittersweet memories for me. My sister and I had our own personal
favorite comedy duo; "Ted and Lee" were their names and we often
modeled a bunch of our own sketches after theirs. Sadly, Lee Eshleman
passed away in May of 2007 when he took his own life. So among other
things, when Monica makes the comment about one of the comedians not
seeming to be very happy, that is usually what I think of. So even with
such a lack of Andrew, this episode remains a bit partial to me for
that reason.What
I didn't love about this episode:I have a few
bones to pick with Monica in this, so prepare yourself. But first...This isn't so
much of a gripe about the writing so much as it is about the character.
Maury is pretty obnoxious in a lot of this, though I know there are
people in real life like him, so it's not unrealistic. It's just too
bad he couldn't have been a little kinder. And that
agent dude seemed pretty slimy. I don't really wanna judge, but from
what I see of him, I wouldn't make him my agent.Now for
Monica:First, she
tells Maury that she knows a lot about team work. What??? Really?
Sometimes she really doesn't seem like she is doing too well at that with Andrew.
But you already know how I feel about that...I didn't like
having to watch Monica up there on that stage giving her little
performance. You could just feel the awkwardness of it all and it
reminded me too much of doing speeches in Public Speaking class at
school. So I felt bad for her at that point.Later, Monica
(yes, her again) asks Maury whether he ever told Ed that he loved him.
And I know the shippers would have had a heyday with this, but... did
Monica ever tell Andrew she loved him? I don't think she did. I'm
pretty sure she's told Tess that, but not Andrew. But please, someone
correct me if I am wrong! It's too bad though, cause I think that
coulda been really healing. So that part kinda irked me.

Lingering
questions:Tess tells
Monica that sometimes men have a harder time communicating their
feelings and such. So would that be the same for Andrew, or no? I think
it probably might be.Whatever
happened to Maury? I kinda wish we coulda seen what happened with him
after Ed's death.Parts
that made me feel swoony:Okay, this
has absolutely nothing to do with this episode really, but the intro
with the trio walking together. Andrew has that flowy white shirt that
I love and something about his hair that I adore. And I think that
automatically sets me up for swooniness in any episode. ;-)Haha, Ed
refers to Andrew as "this kid" twice, I think. It's funny and kinda
cute, because Andrew is definitely not a kid. I guess it's one of those
things where people of even 30 get called a "kid" by someone who may be
70. Sort of how when Andrew gets called "son" at times. It's a bit
weird, but I'm not complaining. It's just weird in a funny way. ;-)I love
Andrew's first scene here and how Ed says that he has a "deadpan
delivery" and will "kill the audience." Andrew might not have
appreciated the remark, but I thought it was pretty humorous. I love
how serious he looks when Ed tells him he's being funny. It's just a
really cute scene. And plus... I really, really love that brown jacket
he's wearing! Looks like something he might wear camping...Monica makes
the remark; "If you don't talk about your feelings, how can you ever
deal with them? Just because you ignore them, doesn't mean they go
away." Augh, someone needs to tell that to Monica herself and probably
to Andrew too. It makes me completely sappy because I think Andrew does
tend to hold things in more than what's exactly healthy for him. And I
think that if Monica would just wake up, realize that, and look at her
own words... she might be able to do some good and be a friend to
Andrew, help him out with that a little. She could at least make it
known to him that he can talk to her if he wants/needs to. But she
doesn't even go that far. So that whole line makes me kinda ticked. But
mostly just really sappy...I'm not a tie
person and usually don't care much for them. I prefer the casual and
comfy look. But Andrew's tie in this episode was kind of pretty, I
thought. I liked it.The part
where Ed is laying on the ground and Andrew is first kneeling by him
and tells him not to say anything. Ed says that he won't say anything
and Andrew says "That was talking" in a sorta stern, but adorable way.
I love that part. He's so cute... ;-)I love how
gentle he seemed to be in that scene too and the way he was describing
Heaven. This, I know, is one of the reasons I love him so much. This
character really takes so much fear out death and dying and I love that.At some
point, also in this scene, he starts giving that kinda lopsided smile
while he's talking and it crazy flippin' adorable!!! Good gosh, I
really have problems, but I love that boy...And this is
kinda random, but the end where he is sitting at the table with Monica
and Tess... I love the color blue of his shirt. And the whole little
flip of his hand/salute thing was too cute. And his smile... okay, I'll
stop now. ;-)Random
thoughts:Maury and Tom
both seem familiar to me, yet according to IMDb, I've never seen them
in anything else. Huh.Monica was
fingering her necklace when she was uncomfortable whilst reading over
the list of jokes Maury gave her. Interesting cause I tend to finger my
necklace when I'm nervous/uncomfortable too.